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Corki
Guest
The Church is universal but that doesn’t mean that religious education is a cookie cutter program everywhere. It’s the same with RCIA. The programs differ from country to county and even diocese to diocese.
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EasterJoy
Guest
Well, no, it is not the end of the story. A baptized Catholic is obliged to seek to complete their baptism not just by receiving the Eucharist, but with the seal of Confirmation.
“It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace. For ‘by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.’” --Catechism of the Catholic Church
"*Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace:
- it roots us more deeply in the divine filiation which makes us cry, "Abba! Father!
- it unites us more firmly to Christ;
- it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us;
- it renders our bond with the Church more perfect
- it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross*."
–Catechism of the Catholic Church
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EasterJoy
Guest
Not quite. It is not as if you receive the Holy Spirit elsewhere and go to church to mark the occasion. When we were children, we were taught the formula that a sacrament is “an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.” The Sacrament of Confirmation itself is the source of its own particular grace, just as the other sacraments are.
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zz912
Guest
*Acts 8:4 Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Thus Philip went down to [the] city of Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them. 6 With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice, came out of many possessed people, and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured. 8 There was great joy in that city.
9 A man named Simon used to practice magic in the city and astounded the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great. 10 All of them, from the least to the greatest, paid attention to him, saying, “This man is the ‘Power of God’ that is called ‘Great.’” 11 They paid attention to him because he had astounded them by his magic for a long time, 12 but once they began to believe Philip as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, **men and women alike were baptized. **13 Even Simon himself believed and, after being baptized, became devoted to Philip; and when he saw the signs and mighty deeds that were occurring, he was astounded.
14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, 15 who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the holy Spirit, 16 for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.**17 Then they laid hands on them and they received the holy Spirit.*18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was conferred by the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me this power too, so that anyone upon whom I lay my hands may receive the holy Spirit.”
Notice that Phillip, a deacon, had baptized the people in Samaria. And yet they didn’t have the fullness of the Holy Spirit. It wasn’t until Peter and John, as bishops, came to them and laid hands on them, anointed them, (which is the sacrament of Confirmation) did they receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
Have you had a successor to the Apostles lay hands on you to give you the fullness of the Holy Spirit? What are you waiting for?
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muffindell
Guest
You are baptised has a Christian not a catholic
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melekali
Guest
You are a Catholic, just not fuly initiated. Recommend getting confirmed if you are serious about living a Catholic life. God bless you no matter what your decision.
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muffindell
Guest
You become a recognised catholic once you have been confirmed. Everything else (confession and communion) are tools for the journey, nothing else.
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Brendan_64
Guest
That isn’t true. Are you saying then that those children raised in Catholic families are not Catholics until they are confirmed? In that case we have children, who are not Catholic, receiving the Eucharist in our churches.
The Eucharist is not a ‘tool for the journey’, the Eucharist is the “fount and apex” of Christian life, the source and summit of all that we are and all that we do. It is certainly not a utilitarian tool on our journey to becoming a ‘recognised Catholic’.
If we have been baptised in the Catholic Church, then we have become members of the Catholic Church…
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Phemie
Guest
That is simply not so. The traditional order of the sacraments is Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, notwithstanding the practice of the last 100 years. Infants can be confirmed if they are in danger of dying but they can’t be given Communion – at least not in the Latin Rite.
You become a Catholic at Baptism if that is the intent of your parents/guardians, or yours if you’re baptized as an adult.
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acacia12
Guest
I spoke to my Priest and…YAY!! I am Catholic. I will also be seeing him tonight at Mass (after) for a chat about Confirmation. WooooHoooooo!!!
Thank you everyone for your replies. God Bless
Thank you everyone for your replies. God Bless
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Brendan_64
Guest
I spoke to my Priest and…YAY!! I am Catholic. I will also be seeing him tonight at Mass (after) for a chat about Confirmation. WooooHoooooo!!!
Thank you everyone for your replies. God Bless
Fantastic!
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muffindell
Guest
There is nothing in the baptism ceremony to suggest anything other than you are baptised a Christian, you are at that point a recognised member of the Christian faith. Learning and taking sacraments is the understanding of the RC doctrine leading to confirmation of RC faith, but foremost you are still a Christian.
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Brendan_64
Guest
Yes and the fullness of the Christian faith lies within the Church. The Church does not think, “well we’ve baptised this person and they’re now a Christian, but they’ve a bit of work to do before we accept them as a Catholic”. If you have been baptised by the Catholic Church (in which the fullness of Christian Truth resides) then you are a Catholic.
No. The sacraments are unconditional gifts from God. They are not exercises in learning, or rewards granted for sufficient competency in Catholic Catechesis. You do not ‘take’ the sacraments and they are not conditional on learning. They are God’s Grace being bestowed upon us, unconditionally.
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Phemie
Guest
First of all, Confirmation is about receiving the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, not about ‘confirmation of RC faith’. This is a sacrament that is DONE TO US (we are confirmed) not something that we do (confirm our faith). That’s why infants in danger of dying are confirmed – they are certainly not ‘confirming their faith’.
Until communities grew, children were baptized, confirmed and given Communion at the same time. In the Latin Rite, Bishops retained the right to Confirm so it became separated from Baptism when people were living too far apart for the bishop to be at the Baptism of each of his subjects.
It still remained the 2nd sacrament of initiation until around 1910 when Pius X lowered the age for First Communion to the age of reason. Then children started receiving around the age of 7 and were often confirmed the next time the bishop came to town.
Today if a child is baptized after the age of reason he/she is also confirmed at the same time.
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muffindell
Guest
Before I fully answer your question I must ask what makes the Roman Catholic faith different from other Christian faiths?
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